2003 Press Releases
Ambassador Vershbow and Minister Rumyantsev Visit Snezhinsk
March 1, 2003
On Saturday, March 1, 2003, the first day of Spring in Russia, Ambassador Vershbow, with a delegation from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and the U.S. Consulate in Yekaterinburg, and Minister Rumyantsev with a delegation from Minatom traveled to the Ministry of Atomic Energy (Minatom) closed nuclear city of Snezhinsk, Russia, to see firsthand the results of DOE-Minatom cooperation on nonproliferation programs. Snezhinsk, formerly known as Chelyabinsk-70, is located approximately 90 kilometers from the city of Yekaterinburg, in the Chelyabinsk Oblast. It is home to one of the premier Russian nuclear weapons design institutes, the All Russian Institute for Technical Physics (VNIITF).
During their visit, Ambassador Vershbow and Minister Rumyantsev were able to see firsthand the positive results of the cooperative nonproliferation efforts of the two countries. Their visit highlighted three major themes:
- employment of former weapons scientists and downsizing the physical infrastructure of the Russian weapons complex;
- the safe and secure storage of nuclear materials; and,
- development of new counter-terrorism technologies.
These themes reflect several of the major U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-Minatom cooperative nonproliferation programs, including Russian Transition Initiatives (consisting of the Nuclear Cities Initiative and Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention), Material Protection Control & Accounting, and the Warhead Safety and Security Agreement.
During the visit, the Russian and American Center visited or had briefings on the following projects:
- International Development Center
- Identification Technologies Company (ITEC)
- Snezhinsk Pipe Coating Facility
- Snezhinsk Pharmaceutical Company
- Spektr-Conversion
- Strela Open Computing Center
- VNIITF Museum of Nuclear Weapons
- MPC&A Upgrades at VNIITF
- WSSX Cooperative Projects and Demonstrations
Text of Joint Press Release
On March 1, 2003, the U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation, Alexander Vershbow, and the Minister of the Russian Federation for Atomic Energy, Aleksandr Rumyantsev, visited the Minatom closed nuclear city of Snezhinsk. Snezhinsk is home to the Russian Federal Nuclear Center - All Russian Institute of Technical Physics (VNIITF), one of Russia’s premier nuclear weapons design institutes. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Ministry of Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation (Minatom) have been implementing cooperative nuclear nonproliferation programs in Snezhinsk since 1992.
While in Snezhinsk, Ambassador Vershbow and Minister Rumyantsev were able to witness firsthand the results of several DOE-Minatom nonproliferation programs. Their visit emphasized three major themes: (1) employment of former weapons scientists and downsizing of the weapons complex infrastructure, (2) safety and security of nuclear materials, and (3) development of new counter-terrorism technologies. Programs like the Russian Transition Initiatives assist scientists from VNIITF to find alternate employment, and help facilitate civilian business development in Snezhinsk. Under the Material Protection Control & Accounting (MPC&A) Program, Minatom and DOE have secured hundreds of kilograms of highly enriched uranium and plutonium through existing and planned upgrades, and construction of new a Central Storage Facility is in the planning stages. Cooperation under the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the United States on the Exchange of Technical Information in the Area of Warhead Safety and Security (WSSX) has resulted in the development of new counter-terrorism technologies to detect the presence of nuclear material and high explosives. During their visit to Snezhinsk, the Ambassador and Minister also met with students from the Snezhinsk Physics & Technical Academy and local high schools.
According to Ambassador Vershbow, “following September 11, 2001, Presidents Bush and Putin developed an unprecedented level of cooperation to combat nuclear terrorism. Similarly, the Department of Energy, under of the leadership of Secretary Abraham and the Ministry of Atomic Energy, under the leadership of Minister Rumyantsev, have developed a close working relationship and have jointly accelerated and expanded DOE-Minatom cooperative efforts to combat nuclear proliferation and terrorism. In fact, to underscore the importance of our joint cooperation, President Bush’s FY ’04 budget request for DOE nonproliferation programs is the biggest in history.”
Minister Rumyantsev noted, "Today an absolutely new situation has emerged in Russian-American relations. The meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and George Bush in May of last year was a significant event in establishing major directions of Russian-American cooperation in the area of nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, combating international terrorism, and the elimination of nuclear materials. This cooperation is supported by the clear mutual interests of our countries. It is very important that U.S.-Russian cooperation in the area of basic nuclear research continues."
Snezhinsk is the “Sister City” to Livermore, California, and VNIITF is the Sister Laboratory to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The relationship between these two cities and laboratories has expanded over the years, and cooperation extends far beyond the sphere of nonproliferation. Other activities, such as development of a Rotary Club, student exchanges, and health cooperation have also taken place. In order to highlight the many activities, which are being implemented in Snezhinsk and Livermore, the Russian Ambassador to the United States, Yuriy Ushakov, has been invited to make a similar visit to Livermore, California in the spring of 2003.
U.S.-Russian cooperation in Snezhinsk and the Urals is diverse and broader than nonproliferation. In fact, while in the region, the Ambassador opened an “American Corner” in Perm. The American Corner in Perm is one of 25 existing and planned American Corners and Centers in Russia that are being established to strengthen and cooperation between Russia and the United States. The American Corner will offer the citizens of Perm open and permanent access to a wide range of information about the United States in the form of hardcopy reference materials, CD-ROM databases, and direct access to American resources via the Internet. The Ambassador also delivered a speech on U.S.-Russian relations at the Perm Seminar of the Moscow School of Political Studies, and visited the former labor camp at Perm-36.